


In Two Years Time

by Stormlight8



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27571222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormlight8/pseuds/Stormlight8
Summary: Sabo had lost so much, and he had gained.  With his memories returned, but one brother gone forever, he suddenly finds that his to-do list has grown exponentially.  People to see and things to do - he won't fail Luffy, his little brother, and he won't fail Ace.
Relationships: Dadan & Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Dadan & Sabo (One Piece), Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Sabo, Koala/Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Dragon & Sabo, Monkey D. Garp & Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy & Sabo, Nico Robin & Sabo, Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Sabo & Vinsmoke Sanji, Sabo (One Piece) & Whitebeard Pirates
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	1. Sabo

_I am Sabo._

_A would-be pirate._

_The brother of Ace and Luffy._

_...._

_And I failed them._

He wearily opened his eyes and squinted through the light. Dimly, he saw Koala, Hack, and someone he didn't recognize. The stranger yelled something, but Sabo didn't quite catch it.

_What...what had happened?_

Sabo pulled himself upwards - staying still didn't feel quite right, like there was something he needed to be doing. Koala stared at him, her wide blue eyes filling with tears.

 _Why are you crying?_ he wanted to ask. _What happened?_

But something told him that it was his fault that tears were pooling in her eyes, streaking down her cheeks like a dam that had finally been broken. 

"I thought you were going to die," she sniffled, wiping hopelessly at her streaming tears. "Sabo!"

Sabo blinked, trying to think, but there was just so much - him as a child learning to play piano, him with Ace fighting for their lives, him and Luffy hunting for food. All that empty space, gone, gone, and now there was no room, no room for anything. 

_My memories have returned_ , he thought with a vague feeling of joy.

And then:

 _My memories have returned_ , he thought, _but too late._

"You had quite a high fever, Sabo," Hack explained, face drawn and looking concerned.

Then Koala bowed forward, and her hands grabbed at the sheets on the cot, her shoulders shaking. "You've been sleeping for three straight days! And I've been worrying..."

Sabo took her hand - she was his friend, and his partner, and she deserved to know what had happened to him, especially after having worried her wen he was unconscious for three days.

Though, how long had it been since he had seen Ace and Luffy...how long had it been that Sabo had likely been presumed dead?

Ace and Luffy hadn't been simply worried about him, he realized. They'd probably been traumatized.

And now he had only one brother to make it up to.

"Koala, Hack..." he began, voice rough from - from yelling or disuse, he wasn't sure. "All of my memories, they've returned."

"What?" Koala asked, blinking away a few stray tears. "You have your memories back?"

He nodded - while only moments before he had felt the need to move, now....he could barely even nod. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. "I remember everything now. Including who I am and why I left home and sailed out to sea."

Koala smiled softly at him, not yet understanding the hellish timing, not understanding that this was a worst case scenario. "I see. That's good." she simply said.

He bent forward, hiding his face from his two friends. He could feel the burn of tears behind his eyes, but no - it was not time for that yet.

Koala blinked, startled, and she leaned forward quickly. "Are you gonna quite the Revolutionary Army, then?"

Sabo looked at her, and could see so much in her eyes. Hope, and fear - so much fear, that he would leave. Even Hack cringed, as if he hadn't even contemplated that Sabo might possibly leave.

 _I don't deserve those feelings_ , Sabo wanted to say. _I've left people before, and could leave again._

But they were his friends, and saying that would hurt them. The Revolutionary Army had taken him in and had given him a purpose, so.... "No, I'm not."

He might leave. He had a little brother to take care of, and options to explore. But he wouldn't abandon ever those close to his heart. 

_Luffy, Koala, Dragon, and Hack._

He would _die_ before he let any of them get hurt.

"Is Dragon still here?" Sabo asked, clearing his thoughts.

"He is." Hack answered.

"I need to talk to him," Sabo said - how strange was it, that he was working for his brother's father all along?

Hack nodded, and rose from his chair, slipping out the door. 

Sabo closed his eyes and released a sigh. He could picture them so clearly, smiling and fighting and stealing and laughing. They were brothers, family. And Sabo had forgotten them.

But Sabo wouldn't forget again. He wouldn't fail again.

He would use the Revolutionary Army resources, and piece together any and all information on his brothers. He wanted - no, needed - to know how Ace spent his years, and to know if he had found what he was searching before - before he was murdered.

He needed to know about Luffy, and the hell he had raised in the past couple months. His crew, and his exploits, and his well-being. Sabo needed to know it all, perhaps to make up for the past ten years. But the reason didn't matter, he just had to have it.

_I had two brothers._

_And I failed them both._

_Not again._


	2. Sanji

"Dammit," he growled, jumping backwards, trying to ignore the shooting pains in his leg. What were these people made of, _iron_? "Again!"

Iva smirked, watching from the side as his citizens formed a ring around Sanji. "As amusing as this is, I think a break is an order."

Sanji narrowed his eyes. He couldn't take a break, he had to keep going and get stronger, because if he were being honest, Momoiro Island wasn't hell - Marineford was, and Luffy had experienced it all alone, so he had to get stronger -

"You won't get any stronger if you work yourself to death, Sanji-boy," Iva said knowingly. "Take a break - queen's orders."

Sanji sighed aggravatedly. Iva was right. He knew Iva was right, yet - 

That little, tiny voice in his head said otherwise, said that he wasn't enough and had to be more -

He stalked off, not sparing a glance to any of the others, though they called out to him, congratulating him on lasting so long against their fighters. He couldn't tell if they were making fun of him, or being serious, so he continued onwards.

As usual, he ended up on the shores of the island. Whenever he had spare time, he liked to catalogue the kinds of fish he saw - it calmed him and allowed him to do his job as a cook at the same time.

Sanji sat down onto the pink sand and stared out at the sea, wondering how the others were doing. Was Robin-dear, and Nami-swan alright? And Usopp, and Chopper, and Franky, Brook, and Zoro? It was likely that they were training to their limits as well.

To be on the crew of the future Pirate King, they had to be strong - strong enough that they would be able to protect each other, and their loved ones.

Because if they couldn't what worth was being strong, really?

He had been so lost in thought that he missed the boat sailing towards the island until it was practically docked. It was a small, almost unnoticeable vessel, so Sanji immediately ruled it out as being citizens of the kingdom returning. 

Which meant that the visitor was someone outside the island, someone who could have news. Getting up, Sanji brushed the sand off his pants and began to approach the vessel.

From what he could see, there was a young man on the deck, sorting out a sufficient anchor. He was decked out in a long coat as well as a top hat, which made Sanji even more curious. Not many people dressed in formal wear when out on the ocean - the only people who made an effort to dress well, to his knowledge, was himself and Crocodile, or someone in the marines. 

So a stranger, who was not a citizen, and was dressed well, had docked on the island - maybe it was a marine who was after his bounty...though, this guy would have to be rather strong to take on all of Momoiro island alone. Perhaps he had backup out on the water?

"Hey, you," Sanji called out to the man. "Who are you?"

The man turned toward him and smiled, and Sanji's eyes widened slightly - a scar covered the left side of his face. "Isn't it usually polite to introduce oneself before asking for other people's names?"

"Alright then," Sanji relinquished. "I guess you're right. I'm Sanji."

The man's eyes narrowed, and he felt as if he were being dissected - that's how intense the man's gaze was. Then he began rummaging around in his coat and pulled out a piece of parchment. Unfurling he, he showed his contents to Sanji. "Is this you?"

Sanji glared at the offending parchment. " _Hell_ no - that thing is not me."

The man frowned, looking at the piece of parchment. "That's quite the reaction. Are you sure you aren't Black-Leg Sanji, cook to the Straw Hat pirates?"

"I didn't say that," Sanji disagreed. "And - do you normally carry that with you? Are you a bounty hunter or something?"

Unexpectedly, the man burst out laughing. "Of all the things, a _bounty hunter._ " The man wiped a tear from his eye - seriously, what was up with this guy. "My name's Sabo."

"Okay," Sanji said, staring down Sabo. "If you're not a bounty hunter, than why are you here?"

"Oh, that?" Sabo hopped off the boat, which was now anchored. "Believe it or not, I'm actually here to visit an old friend. You see, he actually broke out of jail recently, and I've wanted to see him."

Wait a minute - "You're here to see Iva?"

Sabo nodded. "Yeah, though I didn't expect to meet a Straw Hat here." A wry smile crossed his face. "I guess I'm just lucky."

"How do you know Iva? Wasn't he in Impel Down for what, ten years?"

Sabo nodded. "A little less, but pretty much, yeah."

"And you're what, my age?" Sanji asked disbelievingly. "What business does a kid have with Iva?"

Sabo arched an eyebrow. "And what business do you have with a rubber man, a devil woman, a reindeer, a cyborg, and a skeleton? We just do."

Sanji sighed. "That's fair. But..."

Sabo interrupted him, something flashing in his eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

Caught off guard, Sanji blinked. "Sure thing."

"How is Luffy?"

That question caught him off guard - why did this random man want to know about Luffy, anyway? "I don't know, seeing as how I'm here," Sanji muttered bitterly. "I'd imagine....not too well, considering his brother and all."

He wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but it looked as if Sabo flinched. The man's expressive faced closed up so much that it was like looking at a blank wall. "You're right...."

Sanji cringed inwardly. That wasn't what he had expected, so he offered the man a little more. "He's like a black hole, though. Luffy practically absorbs any food in the area - I even have to lock the fridge against nighttime raids. If I didn't do that, I doubt we'd have enough food to last two days."

Something in the man eased. "Is that so?" Sabo mused, cold expression thawing. "That sounds like Luffy."

"Do you know Luffy or something?" Sanji asked. "You seem familiar with him."

Sabo sighed, and Sanji almost didn't detect it. "I'm afraid that's a little complicated," Sabo said. "But the short story is yes, and that if Luffy ever needs me - tell him that the Revolutionary Army has his back."

It felt like whiplash, to Sanji. "Wait, what?" Then it occurred to him - Luffy's father, Monkey D. Dragon, was the leader of the Revolutionary Army. "Did Dragon send you?"

A smile spread on Sabo's face. "Not quite."

Sanji had more questions - a lot more questions, but unfortunately for him someone else broke into their conversation.

"Sanji-boy, what's this? I come to get you myself, and I find you talking to someone?" Iva walked across the sand expertly, not kicking up any sand. It was so graceful - how did the guy do that in _heels_?

Sabo's eyes widened and a grin appeared. "Iva!"

Iva stared at the man, and then came the spark of recognition. "Oh, my - is that you, Sa-boy?"

Sabo walked towards Iva, confidence in every step. "What, didn't recognize me? I guess I grew up a bit."

"And so you have," Iva appraised. "Did Dragon send you? I'd hate to think the man let such talent got to waste aa a messenger."

Sabo smirked. "Actually, my rank is a little higher than that."

"Oh?" Iva put his hands on his hips. "Do tell, then."

"Try the Chief of Staff."

Sabo....was the Chief of Staff? Then he couldn't be here simply to relay messages - anyone could do that. So...why was he here?

Iva blinked once, which was a testament to how surprised the man was - then promptly burst out laughing. "Well done, Sa-boy! Come, we have much to discuss. It's so interesting that the boy we saved that day would actually become our second in command!"

Sabo smiled. "That would be great, thanks. I have a few questions about Marineford, if you don't mind."

Iva nodded, somewhat somberly. "Yes, I'm sure Dragon would like to hear about that. How unfortunate for the Straw-boy."

"I'm actually here not for Dragon, but myself," Sabo paused. "I regained my memories when I saw the papers."

Iva looked towards Sabo. There was no pity, just the willingness to listen. "Here, we can discuss this further inside closed doors. Would you like some tea, once we reach the palace?"

Sabo nodded. "Sure."

The two started walking off, and he could only watch their retreating backs. Sanji wasn't sure what to make of Sabo - just what relationship did he have with his captain, anyway? The man obviously knew him, but if it wasn't through Dragon...then how? How else was Luffy mixed up with the Revolutionary Army? Not to mention how the _Chief of Staff's_ memories had been gone for at least ten years...

Quite frankly, Sanji was just confused. But somehow not surprised - Luffy made friends with everyone, how was this Sabo any different?

Iva turned back towards Sanji. "Sanji-boy!"

Sanji looked warily at Iva.

"While Sa-boy and I talk, you can rest up some more!" Iva paused, the silence too dramatc for Sanji's liking. "Or not!"

The citizens of the kingdom sprang up from behind the dunes on the beach like some sort of wanna-be ninjas, and Sanji sprang backwards to give himself some room.

"Oh _hell_ -"


End file.
